As much as it might sound like a retread of their acclaimed 1978 debut Entertainment!, Gang Of Fours second album, originally released in 1981, still seems almost depressingly contemporary. Certainly, having their jerky post-punk funk appropriated by the likes of Franz Ferdinand hasnt harmed the bands cause, and titles such as Outside The Trains Dont Run On Time, A Hole In The Wallet and Hed Send In The Army still seem freshly ripped from the headlines. In fact, the most dated aspect of this reissue, bundled with the 1982 EP Another Day / Another Dollar, is Michael Hutchences booklet endorsement. Laced with sardonic (in this context, at least) dialogue samples, Cheeseburger is the albums most potent, pointed moment, the American dream debased.

Compared with the main feature, the EP doesnt exactly sugar the pill, but it has a density that Solid Gold (ironically) lacks. The production line grind of Capital (It Fails Us Now) (On the first day of my life I opened my eyes/Guess where! In a super store/Surrounded by luxury goods/I need a freezer I need a hi-fi) is perhaps more relevant than ever in these credit-crunched times, and the year zero revisionism of Historys Bunk! (In the future well invent more junk There are no lessons in the past) looks increasingly like the problem rather than the solution. Better yet are two scorching live tracks, white men in Hammersmith Palais circa March 1981. Cheeseburger, introduced as an angry song about angry things, drips with vitriol, turning consumer culture against itself. What We All Want steamrollers the studio version, its opening cyclical guitar riff surely an influence on The Smiths How Soon Is Now. A whole album of live material from this era would be a formidable prospect.

Yes, its a remorseless listen. Nevertheless, the fact that the reformed Gang Of Fours 2005 album Return The Gift consisted entirely of self-covers of their earlier material only reinforces the fact that they were a quarter century ahead of their time.